Fate Alternate
by Usako Hoshino
Summary: Fate/Zero fic. Irisviel dragged Kiritsugu to a place to have fun, only to meet a little girl who claimed that she'll be a king.


First attempt at a Fate/Zero fic!

I love the anime, it was absolutely amazing, so obviously I had to churn out a fanfic because of its epicness. (:

A random story with absolutely no plot, so yeah. Just writing it because the idea came to mind after watching little Ilya in episode two, she's so cute! Kiritsugu and Irisviel are equally awesome characters who I love a lot, so putting that sweet couple and an adorable little girl together, what do you get? This!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Zero.

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><p>As he walked through crowds of people eating cotton candy and popcorn, Emiya Kiritsugu wondered how Irisviel von Einzbern <em>ever<em> managed to persuade him to smuggle her out of the castle and bring her somewhere where she would be entertained.

Somehow or other, fate inadvertently led them here, where a fiesta was taking place. With bright lights, numerous game booths and the sounds of laughter, it simply took a mere five seconds for Iri to take a look and decide that this was exactly where she wanted to go. Like a five year old kid, Iri was practically sprinting from stall to stall and _poof_! She had disappeared.

He sighed. And now he's stuck in the middle of sweating adults and noisy children with no idea of where to go to find her. While it was slightly awkward since he was the only person in the crowd to wear black clothes completely from head to toe with a deadpanned expression in juxtaposition to colourful casual clothing and smiling faces, he ignored the few glances directed at him and continued his way forward when suddenly…

_Bong!_

"Ah!" A child, whose height barely reached his waist, knocked into him and landed with a thud on the ground in the sitting position. Even as an assassin, Emiya Kiritsugu's features softened immediately when he saw the blond-haired girl, whose face had scrunched up in pain and was trying her hardest not to let her tears flow.

"Owww…"

"I'm so sorry, are you okay?"

The girl's features changed into one that showed none of her emotions at once when she heard Kiritsugu's voice. However, he could still tell that she very much wanted to just sit there and burst into loud fits of tears. She shook her head forcefully as to try and convince herself that she would not, _ever_, cry in public, and repositioned her form back into grace at such speed that surprised even Kiritsugu.

"It was my fault that I was not looking at where I was walking. I should be the one apologising."

Using her hand to sweep dirt away from her blue dress, the girl then tried to stand on her feet. She rose halfway before she cringed in pain again and landed back on the ground, stifling back an audible sob this time. Kiritsugu could not help but break into a smile at the sight of the girl trying bravely to stand back up. Reaching out to her with his hand, he said, "Take my hand."

To his surprise, she swatted his hand away as though it was an annoyingly large fly that was buzzing non-stop near her. "I don't need your help!" she half-shouted, though Kiritsugu could tell it was out of her determination to reject his assistance rather than out of rudeness.

Moving her left leg again, the girl felt overwhelming pain strike her ankle and she released a loud "Yelp!" Seeming as though the girl did not know what was hurting her, Kiritsugu then took out her left shoe to pinpoint out the source of her pain. "You twisted your ankle when you fell."

As he pointed this out, the girl looked like she was forced to swallow a bucketful of bitter gourd. "I'm – not – injured, I'm perfectly fine!" She grabbed her shoe back from him and pushed her swollen, bright red foot back into it forcefully, acting like everything was normal. Then, "You, sir," she pointed her small finger at Kiritsugu, "I understand where you're coming from, but I'm afraid I do not require any of your help."

The girl then managed to wobble back onto her feet unsteadily without wincing in pain any longer, and after succeeding in doing so, she shot a look at Kiritsugu as if to say "Look! I can do it fine all by myself."

Before he could respond, he heard a loud "KI – RI – TSU – GU~" from behind, he turned around to see a sweaty but cheerful Irisviel grinning ecstatically at him while carrying all kinds of food in her arms. Noticing the girl standing right in front of them, she then proceeded to dump all the food right into her husband's arms and before he could say anything, she picked the girl right up into the air.

"Ara ara! What a cute girl, she's almost like a doll!" Iri giggled joyfully, her laughter almost like twinkling bells to Kiritsugu's ears. "Who tied your bun with that beautiful blue ribbon, little girl?"

The girl was stunned, her mouth agape while letting Iri swing her gently in her arms, but she soon composed herself and started struggling, albeit in vain. "I'm – I'm not a girl!" she shouted stubbornly. "My name is Arthur, I'm a boy!"

Iri put her back on the ground, her brows furrowed in puzzlement. "You're wearing a dress, so how can you be a boy? Is your name Arturia instead?"

Arturia shook her head stubbornly, her blond hair whipping at the sides. "I'm definitely not a girl! I'm a boy, and when I grow up I shall be king—"

Both Iri and Kiritsugu were stunned by the girl's curious words, but Iri recovered fast. Taking a stick of mitarashi dango, she stuffed one right into the girl's mouth, interrupting her and smiled, "Then I'm sure you'll make a fine King Arthur."

Arturia stared at Iri before gobbling the mitarashi dango up. Staring at it, she muttered a "Whoa, it's delicious—" and continued to munch the rest of it up before swallowing them swiftly. Iri, totally delighted by the child, turned to Kiritsugu and asked, "How did you get acquainted with her? She's such a cute little thing!"

He sighed. "Iri, she isn't a _thing_—"

"But she looks so much like the toys you brought home! I never knew they'll be so much cuter in reality—"

"Iri," he interrupted her before she could continue ranting excitedly, "The girl had twisted her ankle when she fell. Can you heal her?"

"Definitely," Iri replied immediately. She turned back to face the little girl. "Arturia, don't move please, I'll heal you."

"Wait—" she protested, but Iri put her hand on her ankle and squeezed her eyes shut, focusing on her task. In no time, Arturia's ankle was back to normal. She gave a gasp as she ran around in a small circle, testing her leg. "Oh wow oh—it's fine right now—it's back to normal—" she trailed off, realising that once more she's being the little girl that she was, and recomposed herself again. "How did you manage to do such a thing?"

Iri, unable to resist, reached out and petted the girl's head. "It's just simple healing magic. Get going then, my little king."

"I'll do my best!" Arturia gave Kiritsugu and Iri a salute. "Thank you so much for the dango and the healing. I will keep your good deed in mind. You have my absolute respect and gratitude." She bowed before she ran away, her blue ribbon flying in the wind. Iri and Kiritsugu soon lost sight of her as she blended into the crowd.

Iri clapped her hands cheerfully. "She's wonderful!"

"She certainly is, Iri," Kiritsugu smiled. "Let's go home."

"Hey," Iri stared at him, her eyes sparkling. "Do you think we'll have a child like that?"

"Let's not… approach that topic—"

"Why not? Kiritsugu, don't you think it'll be fun to have a cute child running around in our castle?"

"Iri—"

"Would a son be cuter? What do you think?"

And as the two of them made their way back, Kiritsugu still managed to hold his wife's hands even while carrying a pile of food and listening to Irisviel von Einzbern chatter excitedly all the way back home.

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><p>Hoped you liked it (:<p> 


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